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GODLINESS, A GREAT MYSTERY. 



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THOUGHTS 



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AND THE OFFICES OF THE 



THREE PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD. 



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BY J/ COGSWELL, D. D, 



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PRESS OF J. TERHUNE, 31 ALBANY STREET. 



M.DCCO.LVII. 



to 



GODLINESS, A GREAT MYSTERY. 



And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness : God was manifest 
in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, 
believed on in the world, received up into gloiy. 1 Tim. iii. 16. 

The method God has devised and adopted for the redemp- 
tion of sinful men, is mysterious, and cannot be understood 
without a knowledge of a plurality of persons in the God- 
head. 

The scriptures, given by inspiration of God, and the cate- 
chism approved by the General Assembly of the Presbyte- 
rian Church of the United States of America, teach us that 
there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Ghost, that these three are one God, the same 
in substance, equal in power and glory. 

The revelations God has made of himself, of his purposes 
and works, demand a belief of a plurality of persons in the 
Godhead. The Father, as the Creator and governor of the 
world, was the first person made known ; then the Sod, the 
Redeemer ; finally, the Holy Ghost, by whose power men 
are regenerated and saved. 

When God created our first parents, he wrote his law 
upon their hearts. This law was exactly fitted to their na- 
ture and constitution. Perfect obedience would have made 
them as happy as it was possible for them to be. The 
works of creation and providence, afforded them proof that 
there is one God, infinite in power, wisdom and goodness. 
They could know, while innocent, but one person in the 
Godhead, their Creator and rightful sovereign. Any in- 



timation of a Savior, in case they sinned, would have had 
the same influence on their minds, as the assurance of the 
serpent, that, if they partook of the forbidden fruit, they 
would not surely die. It may be added God never makes 
any unnecessary display of his perfections, or purposes ; so 
perfect is the government of God, that not a sparrow fall- 
eth to the ground without him, and the very hairs of our 
head are all numbered. The heavens declare the glory of 
God, and the firmament showeth his handy work. The 
works of creation and providence proclaim the unity of 
God ; they give us no knowledge of a plurality of persons 
in the Godhead. 

It is by no means strange, that those who deny the in- 
spiration of the scriptures should be Unitarians ; they per- 
suade themselves that they love God, who bestows his bles- 
sings on them ; but do they, more than some of the lower 
orders of animals, which love those who feed them, and 
manifest different feelings, when their masters withhold their 
usual food irom them ? 

Now the law of God, which is written on the hearts of 
all mankind, is a manifestation of his character, and an 
expression of his will. God could not be honored, as a 
righteous sovereign, should he not punish impenitent trans- 
gressors. With respect to every good law, the only alter- 
native is — obey, and be protected ; or disobey, and suffer the 
penalty. The law transgressed demands satisfaction, as the 
transgressor cannot give satisfaction himself, if he rejects the 
satisfaction God has provided, he must perish. Uere then 
we see the mercy of God, manifested in the gift of his Son, 
to suffer the penalty of the law we have transgressed. God 
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life — John iii. 16. 

Though our first parents were made in the image of God, 
and were perfectly holy and happy ; their knowledge of the 



whole character of God was limited by the circumstances of 
their condition. God had made such a revelation of himself, 
and of his government, as was suited to their character and 
condition. He had made no revelation of his mercy, the 
brightest and most endearing excellency of his character. 
To forgive one who has injured us, is a proof of deeper piety 
than to relieve one in distress, who has never offended us. 

The apostacy of our first parents, gave God an oppor- 
tunity to make a more glorious revelation of his character 
to the universe, than he had made by the creation of the 
world. 

But much as God loved our first parents, and much as he 
desired to forgive them, he could not do it safely ; except in 
a way which, would give honor, satisfaction and force to the 
just demands of his law. What greater proof can God give 
of his determination to execute his laws, than he has given 
by permitting his dearly beloved and only begotten Son to 
suffer the penalty of his holy law in the room of all he de- 
termines to save ? This is the only method by which any 
can be forgiven, and obtain a good hope of future and ever- 
lasting happiness. 

The promise made to our progenitors, after they had eaten 
the forbidden fruit, that the seed of the woman should bruise 
the serpent's head, gave them the first intimation that 
there was more than one person in the God-head ; and that 
the seed of the woman, the second person, would overcome 
the serpent. IS3o doubt, if our first parents, or either of 
them, became truly pious, the Holy Spirit, though not yet 
revealed, gave them a sufficient knowledge of the way of sal- 
vation. They had a clear view of their disobedience, and 
felt that they were justly condemned. We know not that 
they became penitent and obtained forgiveness. Without 
heartfelt penitence we know they could not be saved. 

" Think not," said Christ, in his sermon on the Mount, 



6 

" that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am 
come not to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto 
you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in 
no wise pass from the law till all is fulfilled." 

Though our first parents did not in a literal sense 
die the very day they ate the forbidden fruit, they became 
dead in trespasses and sins. The light which shone so 
brightly in them while innocent, was suddenly extinguished, 
and they were involved in darkness. 

None but God could devise, and had a right to adopt, a 
method honorable to himself, by which the transgressor 
could be justified and saved. And this was very gradually 
made known to the world. 

The history of our race for 1656 years is the history of a 
very corrupt people. Murder was committed in the family 
of our first parents. Cain murdered Abel. The passions of 
corrupt men were the laws which governed them. It does 
not appear that there were schools or churches, with educa- 
ted pastors to check and counteract the power of depraved 
and wicked men. Yery few of the multitudes who lived 
before the deluge, had any knowledge of the true God. 
What communications were made by special revelations we 
know not. Enoch appears to have been a good man. Though 
he lived 368 years, his life was of short duration compared 
with the lives of some others. He walked with God, and 
probably suffered persecution from which God delivered him, 
when he took him to heaven. It is probable that the his- 
tory of the antediluvians was not much unlike the present 
history of pagan tribes and nations. The law written on the 
hearts of all mankind, was their only guide. This was hid- 
den and counteracted by corrupt desires and passions. 

In consequence of the longevity of the inhabitants of the 
old world, it has been calculated by a learned divine, that 
there were more people in the world before the deluge than 
there have been since. 



Such was the wickedness of the posterity of Adam, after 
a trial of 1656 years, that God destroyed them with the ex- 
ception of eight souls, by a universal deluge. The univer- 
sality of the deluge renders it probable that the world was 
extensively inhabited. It does not appear that the deluge, 
terrible as this judgment was, produced any radical change 
in the character of the human race. Abraham was not born 
till more than 300 or 352 years after the deluge. When he 
was 99 years of age, God established his covenant with him, 
and directed him to circumcise all the males of his family. 
Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, 
who was circumcised at eight days old. He was the son of 
Sarah as well as of Abraham, and he was dearly beloved. 
But when about 30 years of age, God subjected his father to 
a severe trial. God commanded him to take his son and 
offer him as a sacrifice, a burnt offering, in the land of Moriah. 
Isaac was very dear to his parents, and to offer him as a 
burnt offering was more than the patriarch could do without 
strength from God. Such was the help he received from 
God, to whom he was indebted for his own life, and for that 
of his son, (God had a perfect right to take them when he 
pleased, and in the manner most agreeable to him,) that 
Abraham was ready to do just what was required of him. 
He was so filled with the Holy Ghost as to have no will of 
his own opposed to the will of God. 

Isaac was a remarkable type of Christ — the Son of God — 
who was actually sacrificed on Calvary. God spared Isaac 
and his father, but did not spare his only begotten, dearly 
beloved Son, and did not spare himself, but freely gave his 
son to be crucified that we may be saved. 

The bloody sacrifices offered from time to time by the 
posterity of Abraham, till the birth and crucifixion of Christ, 
pointed to him in whom they all terminated. It was a 
much greater trial for God the Father to give up his Son 
to be sacrificed to save his enemies from deserved punish- 



8 

ment, than for Abraham, to give up Isaac ; as the Son of 
God is greater and more beloved because more deserving of 
love than was Isaac. 

As his own glory is, and must be, the ultimate object God 
ever has in view, so he performs his appropriate part, and 
infinitely the most important part in its accomplishment. 
When it was manifest that none could be saved unless the 
claims of divine justice were satisfied, and the truth of God 
was made to appear, God was pleased to give his dearly be- 
loved and only begotten Son to assume human nature, that 
he might perfectly obey the law man has transgressed, and 
that he might suffer the penalty in the room of all who cor- 
dially trust in him. When all this was done, an atone- 
ment was made as sufficient for all the world, as for one in- 
dividual. 

Here, let it be observed, the law which Christ obeyed, 
and the penalty of which he suffered, is the law written on 
the hearts of all mankind — on the hearts of the most ignorant 
and degraded heathen , as well as on the hearts of all who dwell 
in christian lands. In this particular, Christ has prepared the 
way for their salvation ; and it is the solemn duty of the 
christian church to make known to the heathen the only 
way by which they may be saved. 

The man, however learned in other respects, must be very 
ignorant of the principles of law and of good government, 
who does not see that the debtor must satisfy his creditor or 
suffer the penalty the law demands. But, if the debtor have 
a surety, the payment of the surety must satisfy the creditor. 
Now, what innocent person, what prince, what son of a 
great king would consent to suffer an ignominious and 
painful death to save rebellious subjects from deserved pun- 
ishment ? This the Son of God has done to satisfy the just 
demands of the divine law upon all transgressors. I see 
not on what ground the infidel and unitarian can hope for 
justification ; on their principles no government can be sus- 



9 

tained, much, less be respected. When they die, as they 
have no foundation on which to rest, they must fall into that 
pit from which there is no deliverance. 

The seed of the woman, which God promised our first 
parents should bruise the serpent's head, in process of time 
proved to be the Son of God, the second person in the trinity. 
" But when the fulness of time was come," said the Apostle 
to the Galatians, " God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, 
made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, 
that they might receive the adoption of sons."-Gal. iv.4-5. His 
life was the embodiment of the divine law. The law had no 
demands on him for the least offence. He suffered the pen- 
alty, not for himself, but for all given to him in the cove- 
nant of redemption. " All," he said, " that the Father giveth 
me, shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in 
no wise cast out." — John vi. 37. 

He has the promise of his Father, that "his dominion shall 
be from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the 
earth. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him, all nations 
shall serve him." — Ps. 72, 8, 11. 

When the Son of God was baptized by John, the heavens 
were opened, and the spirit, like a dove, descended upon him ; 
and there came a voice from heaven, saying : " Thou art my 
beloved son 1 in whom I am well pleased.' — Mark 1st, 10, 11. 
"He was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with, power." — 
Acts x. 38. 

The Holy Ghost dwelt in him, and enabled him to per- 
form his mighty deeds. The Holy Ghost dwelt in him till 
the work of the second person on earth was finished, and till 
the Holy Spirit, as a distinct person, was about to be reveal- 
ed. No one could come to Christ to be pardoned and justi- 
fied without being born of the Holy Spirit. How could any 
one discover any loveliness in Christ crucified, without a 
new nature created by the Holy Spirit ? Begeneration is 
not the work of the second, but of the third person in the 






10 

tf-f. 

God-head. As the Holy Spirit descended^ and dwelt in 
Christ, and gave success to his ministry, so the Holy Spirit 
descends on, and dwells in, all called of God to the sacred 
ministry, and gives success to their labors. It is the Holy 
Spirit that gives solemnity and power to the preached 
word. The operations of the Holy Spirit are directed to 
the conscience and the heart of the sinner. Powerless are 
the best written discourses if not addressed to the conscience 
and heart of those that hear them. 

It seems to be the belief of some, that the unconverted 
may come to Christ to be pardoned and justified, just as the 
blind, the dumb, the deaf and the leprous came to Christ, 
just as they were. This is not a scriptural view of the sub- 
ject. "No man," said Christ, "can come to me, except the 
Father which has sent me draw him." — John vi. 44. 

Again : " No man can come to me, except it were given 
to him of my Father." — John vi. 65. How can any man 
come to Christ to be forgiven and justified, unless convinced 
that he is justly condemned, and unable to satisfy the just 
demands of the divine law? Christ can receive no one un- 
less truly penitent, and prepared to trust in him for salva- 
tion. He can receive no one whose heart is still enmity 
against God. In too many instances, when sinners are 
urged with great earnestness to come to Christ, their guilt and 
deep depravity are overlooked. Their danger is described 
and not their guilt. The injury they have done to themselves, 
and not the injury they have done to God and his government, 
is exhibited to their view. The impression is made on their 
minds that they have full power to secure their own salva- 
tion when they please. Their own happiness is the great ob- 
ject they are urged to secure. Their guilt is shown to con- 
sist in not doing what they have power to do. So, when 
converted, their religion originates in self love and terminates 
in their own happiness. Here we see why such preaching is 
unsuccessful. 



11 

As the appropriate work of the second person in the God- 
head was by his obedience and death, to satisfy the just de- 
mands of the divine law, and to prove the truth of God who 
had said, " the soul that sinneth it shall die ;" so the appro- 
priate work of the Holy Spirit is to awaken, convict, and 
convert the sinner, and thus to prepare him to become recon- 
ciled to the character and government of God. 

All who have been saved from the earliest period of the 
church of God, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. 
His work is distinct from that of the second person, though 
their works appear to be united in the conversion of sin- 
ners. All who have been justified, have been justified by 
the imputed righteousness of the second person, and regener- 
ated by the third person. 

At the baptism of Christ, " the Holy Spirit descended and 
rested upon him, and he was filled with the Holy Ghost 
when he returned from Jordan." — Luke iv. 1. The apos- 
tles were filled at times with the Holy Ghost, which enabled 
them to speak with great power and with great success. The 
men called by the spirit of God to preach the Gospel, 
sometimes give proof that they are filled with the Holy 
Ghost, especially when God revives his work. Such was the 
union of the second and third persons during the ministry of 
Christ, that we might attribute to either miraculous powers. 

" When John heard of the wonderful works of Jesus, he 
sent to inquire if he was the Christ ? Jesus answered and 
said unto them — Go and show John again those things ye do 
hear and see. — The blind receive their sight, the lame walk ; 
the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear ; the dead are rais- 
ed up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them ; and 
blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me." — Math, 
xi. 3, 6. 

The miracles here recorded were proofs of the super- 
natural or divine power of Christ, and of his wonderful phi- 
lanthropy. The defects which Christ cured or removed, 



12 

were physical, and were not any proofs of forgiveness — and 
the cures were not conversions. The mission of Christ made 
it necessary for him to give undoubted proofs of his divine 
power and his heavenly sympathy with the suffering. 

Now, because the blind, the deaf, and the dumb ; the 
lame and the leprous were brought to Christ, just as they 
tuere, to be made whole, some maintain that sinners the most 
depraved may come to Christ just as they are. This error 
renders the ministry of many, it is feared, unsuccessful, and 
if apparently successful, deceptive. There is a wide differ- 
ence between pity for the suffering, who have not caused 
their suffering by any improper conduct, and the forgiveness 
of those, who have without any cause hated and injured us. 
May thieves, liars, fornicators, profane swearers, and murder- 
ers, just as they are, without repentance, or a radical change, 
take refuge in Christ ? None can come to Christ till they 
are reconciled to his holy character, and can have fellowship 
with him. 

Pity is exercised toward the suffering — mercy to the guilty. 



Note. The Eev. Dr. Gutlirie, of Edinburgh, Scotland, notices the distinction 
between pity and mercy, which, by too many young preachers is overlooked. 
Ilis illustrations are very striking and satisfactory. 

"To do justice to God and to the Saviour," he observes, " we must be cu 
not to confouud pity with mercy. We pity simple suffering, but let pity and love 
be extended to guilty suffering, and you have now the element ot mere . ■ 
is the forgiveness or' an injury, mercy is the pardon of a ainn 

"In fine, the objects of pity are sufferers who have been unfortunate, the ob- 
jects of mercy are sufferers who have been guilty." Sermon VIII. ^L» y 

It was necessary for Christ to g'ivc proof of Ids humanity — his love of mankind, 
and his pity for the unfortunate. Natural and physical defects were not sins, 
and did not require the exercise of mercy, but only of pity. 

It is a proof of inexcusable ignorance of the work of the ! it, in tho 

conviction and conversion of sinners, to make no distinction between those horn 
blind, deaf and dumb, and those spiritually blind, deaf and dumb ; whose defects 
are not physical but moral, the effects of deep deptavitj . Tie e\ inners 

are urged to come t < » ("nil-! without dependence on their own works. True, 
their own works before conversion are sinful, and they cannot come to Christ 
without repentanoe, the exercise ot a new beam. Renouncing dependence on 



13 

" No man can come to me," said our Lord, " except the 
Father which hath sent me, draw him ; and I will raise him 
up at the last day." — John vi. 44. He thus concluded a dis- 
course in a synagogue : " Therefore said I unto you, that no 
man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of 
my Father." — John vi. 65. Now, if we appeal to any intel- 
ligent christian, the following will be his testimony : When 
first awakened by the Spirit of God, I felt that I was justly 
condemned by his holy law written on my heart, my own 
conscience, the light within m^ condemned me, and urged 
me to come to Christ, but wherr looking at the cross I was 
filled with terror, and I could see nothing lovely in my 
Saviour. Though worthy of supreme love, I could not love 
him. I could do nothing to save myself, and fell helpless at 
the feet of him who will have mercy on whom he will. My 
unconditional surrender was followed by a most wonderful 
change in my views and feelings. Christ appeared to be 
altogether lovely ; and I could but love him, and with all 
my heart embrace him. This great change prepared me 
to come to him, and without which I never could come to 
him and embrace him. Every true christian knows that 
he could not come to Christ and embrace him till there was 
such a change in his nature as to enable him to discover a 
great apparent change in his views of Christ. He knows, 
too, that the change could not be in his divine Eedeemer, 



our works does not satisfy the claims of justice. It must be an offence to Christ 
to come to him impenitent, for justification. 

There appears to he an unwillingness in some preachers to address the con- 
sciences and hearts of their hearers. It is difficult to account for this, if they 
have themselves experienced a work of the Holy Spirit in their conversion. Here 
we see what prevents the conversion of sinners. Faithfully addressing the con- 
science of sinners, by which they are convinced and made to feel that they are 
justly condemned by the holy law of God, which he is determined to execute, 
alarms, displeases and distresses them. But how can sinners repent unless they 
are convinced that they are guilty ? How cau they come to Christ unless they 
feel the need of his atoning blood ? 



14 

but in himself. Nothing distresses the awakened and con- 
victed sinner so much as a view of the crucifixion of Christ, 
in which is seen proof of the truth and inflexible justice of 
God. 

As the appropriate work of the second person in the God- 
head was to satisfy the just demands of the law man had 
transgressed, and to prove the truth of God in the redemp- 
tion of all given to his son, so when he suffered death upon 
the cross, was buried, rose again, and ascended up to hea- 
ven, his work on the earAh was finished. And he will 
never again appear, till he comes in great glory to judge the 
world. The Holy Spirit that had dwelt in him, left him 
when he died, and was then revealed as a distinct person. 

The work of the third person is distinct from that of the 
second person, and should be so viewed to prevent confusion 
in our minds, when meditating on the plan and work of 
redemption. All, who have been pardoned and justified, 
have been justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ, 
and have been regenerated by the mighty power of the 
Holy Spirit. 

When Christ, while on earth, said to anyone, M Son, be of 
good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee," he could say it with 
great propriety, because he was able and willing to become 
the surety for that person. But it was the peculiar work of 
the Holy Spirit to give power and effect to the word spoken 
by the second person. Here we see how the appropriate 
works of the two persons are united in the same act : the 
second person, as such, did not regenerate anyone, and the 
third person did not satisfy the demands of the divine law. 

When our first parents were created, as already observed, 
they knew but one person in the Godhead. They could 
not know more than one. The works of creation declared 
the glory of the power, wisdom and goodness of him that 
created them. 



15 

Before the apostacy of our first parents, there was no 
need of one who saves from sin ; but when they sinned, the 
law, which they had transgressed, condemned them, and 
God would have been just had he caused them immediately 
to suffer its penalty. Because he had purposes of mercy 
toward the human race, and as regards the brightest mani- 
festation of his own character, he spared the lives of our 
first parents, and gave them an intimation of his forgiving 
love. 

Here it must be admitted, that God always has an ulti- 
mate regard to his own glory. The brightest manifestation 
of the character of God is his forgiving love, and the man 
who has most of this spirit is most like God. The language 
of men is — pay me that thou owest, do me justice — give 
me the praise and honor I deserve. The person injured, or 
believed not to have received the honor supposed to be due, 
becomes an enemy. Forgiveness, which is the exercise of 
mercy, is written in letters, which may be read by every 
one, on the plan God has adopted for the redemption of 
lost men. 

The crucifixion of Christ completed the work, by which 
he made an atonement, as sufficient for the whole human 
race as for any individual. By his obedience and death he 
satisfied the just demands of that law, which is written upon 
the hearts of all mankind, the most degraded heathen as 
well as the most enlightened in christian nations. The mis- 
sionary, when about to visit the most corrupt and idolatrous 
pagans, is cheered and encouraged by a knowledge of the 
fact, that Christ has gone before and prepared the way for 
him. Success, it is believed, does attend the labors of devo- 
ted missionaries in every part of the world. 

The resurrection of Christ was a great and glorious event, 
in which the whole Godhead was concerned, and by which 
God approved all that he had taught and done. For forty 
days he was seen at different times, and by more than five 
hundred brethren at once. 



16 

The crucifixion of Christ terminated the Jewish dispensa- 
tion, and the separation of the posterity of Abraham from 
the rest of the human race. The way was prepared for the 
universal spread of the gospel. This Christ had accom- 
plished by his obedience and death, and he was the proper 
person to introduce the change. 

"All power," he said, "is given unto me in heaven and 
in earth. Go ye therefore," he said to the eleven faithful 
disciples, "and teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you : and, lo, I am with you always, even unto 
the end of the world. Amen." — Matt, xxviii. 18-20. 

When Christ had commissioned his disciples to go into 
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, 
" while they beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received 
him out of their sight." — Acts i. 9. He will not be again 
seen till he comes in great glory to judge the world. 

Ten days after the resurrection of Christ, the second per- 
son in the Godhead, and fifty days after the last Jewish, 
passover, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, as a dis- 
tinct person, was revealed by his mighty works. " And 
they," the apostles, "were all filled with the Holy Ghost, 
and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave 
them utterance." — Acts. ii. 4. 

Though the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at the time 
of his baptism, and dwelt in him, yet he was not known, as 
a distinct person, till Jesus was glorified.— John vii. 89. 

The Feast of Pentecost was kept the fiftieth day after the 
passover, in remembrance of the law given by Moses at Mt. 
Sinai, fifty days, or seven weeks after the departure of the 
children of Israel from Egypt. The extraordinary events 
which preceded this festival, drew together great numbers 
from the different places where they resided. 

It is worthy of special notice, that the attention of the 



17 

multitudes was directed to the law they had transgressed, before 
thej were pricked in their hearts and converted. The law 
was applied to their consciences, and they felt condemned 
by it. Their guilt in the crucifixion of their long-promised 
Messiah was then charged against them. 

" When they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, 
and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and 
brethren, what shall we do?" When the crucifixion of 
Christ was presented to their view, they felt that they were 
doubly condemned, and justly deserved to suffer the wrath 
of God. 

The wonderful success which attended the preaching of 
the apostles on the day of Pentecost, should lead every 
faithful minister to ascertain what means were so signally 
blessed. The attention of Peter's hearers was first directed 
to the law, written upon the hearts of all mankind, and then 
to the crucifixion of Christ, by whom alone they could be 
saved. "And I, brethren," said the apostle Paul, in his 
epistle to the Corinthians, " when I came to you, came not 
with excellency of speech, or of wisdom, declaring unto you 
the testimony of God: for I determined not to know any- 
thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." — 
1 Cor. ii. 1-2. 

The hatred of -Christ, was hatred of the law which he 
obeyed. 

When the attention of the sinner is directed to Christ, it 
should be directed to his obedience and crucifixion, by 
which he suffered the penalty of the law, by which we are 
justly condemned. In his death we see the inflexible jus- 
tice of God, and proof of his truth, who said, " The soul 
that sinneth, it shall die." It is to be lamented that some 
popular preachers do not distinguish between the pity of 
Christ manifested towards the blind, the deaf and the dumb, 
physical defects, and his forgiving love, exercised toward 
those condemned by the divine law, and truly penitent. Of 



18 

course, their beautiful discourses are powerless, and their 
converts indulge only false hopes. The dispensation of the 
Holy Spirit, the third person in the Godhead, is the most 
perfect. In urging men to come to Christ, it is not proper 
to represent him as he appeared, when giving proof of his 
humanity, but as giving proof of his love of that law by 
which the sinner is condemned, and the penalty of which 
he suffered on the cross, in the room of all who trust in him. 

In many beautiful discourses the wonderful pity of Christ 
is extolled, but not his mercy in the forgiveness of the peni- 
tent. It was one part of his mission to give proof that he 
was a perfect man, that he might be the Saviour of lost 
men ; and another part of his mission to prove that he was a 
divine person, that his atonement might be sufficient for all 
mankind. But, had he not suffered the penalty of the law r 
in the room of all who trust in him, none could have been 
saved. As a man or philanthropist, Christ never saved any. 
We are indebted to the suffering of the cross for all the 
hope we have of pardon and justification. 

This is the view of every one, who has experienced a work 
of the Holy Spirit in his heart. He never can forget the 
distress he felt when his conscience condemned him, and he 
felt that he was on the very brink of endless misery. He 
saw that he could not help himself, that his heart was hard, 
and could not love him who is altogether lovely. He can 
never forget the change, when the most terrific object he 
ever beheld, appeared subsequently the most lovely. Great 
was the change, and none but God could effect it. Here it 
may be observed, the work of conviction and the work of 
conversion are always attended with great solemnity. They 
are works of the Holy Spirit ; and the Holy Spirit always 
operates on the conscience. Convictions of the conscience 
are different from convictions of the understanding. 

Now, as conviction of guilt must precede conversion, it 
may be asked, how can any be convinced that they are 



i 



19 

transgressors of God's law, unless they know it by the great- 
ness of their obligation to obey it ? Again, as that convic- 
tion, which precedes regeneration, is by a knowledge of the 
law written on the heart, and which the conscience approves, 
how can it be known and perform its appropriate work, un- 
less the conscience is enlightened ? But how few preachers 
of the present day faithfully address the consciences of their 
hearers ! Such addresses always awaken a feeling of oppo- 
sition to those who deliver them. Preachers are unwilling 
to offend their hearers who liberally support them. Now, 
we know, that the man who has robbed his neighbor, hates 
him when his guilt is proved, and the law by which he must 
be condemned, and all too, who condemn his conduct. Just 
so it is, when faithful and solemn appeals are made to the 
consciences of those who are transgressors of God's law. 
Hence, we find, the most popular discourses are those which 
are addressed to the understanding and feelings of those 
who hear them. But we cannot believe, that God has 
written a law upon the hearts of all mankind, which he does 
not mean to execute.' He has said, " the soul that sinneth, 
it shall die." This truth requires the execution of his law, 
either on the transgressor or his substitute. " I had not 
known sin," said the apostle, u but by the law. For I was 
alive without the law once, but when the commandment 
came, sin revived, and I died." — Rom. vii. 7-9. 

Now the first object, which fixes the attention of a sinner 
awakened by the Holy Spirit, is the crucifixion of Christ, 
who suffered the penalty of the law, not for himself but for 
transgressors of the same law. Here the sinner learns the 
greatness of his guilt, and the determination of God to 
punish with everlasting destruction all who, by penitence 
and faith, do not become united to Christ. Their struggles 
for relief are powerless. The convicted sinner cannot repent 
or pray, or perform any duty of himself, so as to afford him 
peace, and to give him a good hope of salvation. Where 



20 

must he go, but to the Spirit of God, looking to him who 
will have mercy on whom he will ? The sinner must go 
stript of all dependence on his works, or his power to work 
— must fall helpless before him that searcheth the heart, and 
appears in no visible form. Many, it is believed, render 
their labors worse than useless, and deceptive and ruinous, 
by endeavoring to give the sinner such a view of the amia- 
ble and compassionate character of Christ, that the sinner, 
unconverted, may be pleased with it, and with such views 
and feelings may embrace Christ. The work now to be 
done is not with the second person, as if he were still visible 
and on the earth, healing the sick, and giving sight to the 
blind, but with the invisible Spirit, who searches the heart, 
awakens the conscience, convinces of sin, and who alone can 
regenerate the sinner. 

What signifies going back to a former visible dispensation 
which has passed away, and is for ever ended, when a more 
perfect and more spiritual dispensation has commenced, and 
which is far more favorable to the conversion of sinners 
than the former? Facts abundantly confirm the declaration. 
The greatest proof of Christ's love was on the cross. Why 
not present that view to the sinner? 

It is impossible faithfully to preach the gospel without 
wounding the feelings of the unconverted — perhaps without 
offending them. When they contemplate- the works of 
creation and providence — the proofs of the power, wisdom, 
and goodness of God — and the blessings bestowed on them, 
they persuade themselves that God loves them, and that 
they love him. How, then, can they believe that their 
hearts are enmity against God, and that his law condemns 
them ? They appear to be grateful for blessings received, 
but these blessings do not influence them to love the holy 
character of God, and his holy law. Their love of God is 
selfish. They love him, not his holy character and govern- 
ment, but only for the favors bestowed on them. Those 



21 

only, who are called by the Spirit of God, and who are sus- 
tained by him, faithfully discharge their duty. When they 
see any in deep distress on account of their sins against 
a holy God, they would, if they dared, cry peace ; but they 
know that this would probably prevent one about to enter 
into the kingdom of God, from obtaining salvation, when 
about to be obtained. None, who do not love God and the 
souls of men more than their worldly interest, will faithfully 
preach the truth ; and none are loved more than such, by 
those converted by their instrumentality. Inexpressible is 
the joy of one, who discovers the glory of the forgiving 
love of God in his salvation. It is feared that very many 
of the reported conversions of the present day, and the addi- 
tions to the church are unsound. 

Discourses, addressed to the understanding, which exhibit 
proof of logical power and intellectual culture, and which 
refute the reasoning of popular errorists, may receive the 
praise of the well educated. Their pleasure may arise from 
the discomfiture of those who differ from them, rather than 
from a defense of what they believe to be the truth. So, too, 
discourses, written with taste, enlivened by beautiful illus- 
trations, and quotations from celebrated authors, may charm 
the multitude. But such discourses do not reach and 
awaken the consciences of the hearers, and are powerless. 

Preaching the law by many is disliked and condemned, 
because it is not, as they think and say, preaching Christ. 
But preaching the law is the most successful manner of 
preaching Christ. Was not his life the interpretation of the 
law, and the fulfilment of its requirements ? The law never 
shone with such overpowering splendor as in his crucifixion. 
It is impossible faithfully to preach Christ without preaching 
the law. In too much of the preaching of the present day, 
the happiness of the sinner and not the glory of God, is 
made the chief end. Faithfully preaching the law and ap- 
pealing to the consciences of the hearers, is usually, if not 



22 

always, attended with the teaching and saving power of the 
Holy Spirit. 

Not preaching the law is not preaching Christ, whose life 
was the interpretation and fulfilment of its precepts, and 
whose crucifixion by wicked hands was a manifestation of 
the enmity of the unrenewed heart against God, and against 
his Son, the brightness of his glory, and the express image 
of his person. The crucifixion of Christ, by which the just 
claims of the law were satisfied for all given to him, is the 
most affecting proof of his love of the souls of men. 

But so presenting Christ to the unrenewed, as he appeared 
during his ministry, healing the sick, giving sight to the 
blind and feeding the hungry, and concealing his holy char- 
acter and hatred of sin, may lead them to think that they 
love him and are willing to come to him, when in reality 
they have the same spirit in them which moved the Jews to 
crucify him. Many at the present time who come to Christ, 
come to him, not to be saved from sin, but from deserved 
punishment. Their hopes are deceptive. 

Had the wonderful cures effected by Christ been effected 
by worldly men, their fame would have extended to the ut- 
most bounds of the earth. Kings and noblemen, if parents 
of children born blind or deaf or dumb, would, at any ex- 
pense, send them to such a wonderful physician to be cured. 
But these miracles of Christ proved him one of the most 
distinguished friends of mankind, and were suited to dispose 
them to listen to his instructions. The greatest proof he 
could give of his love of the human race and his desire of 
their salvation, was his willingness to suffer the penalty of 
the law they had transgressed, that they might be pardoned 
and justified. 

Now the question may be asked, why did the Jews cru- 
cify Jesus ? He was their long-expected Messiah, came at 
the time predicted and expected. His life was holy, and 
the exact embodiment of the divine law. The Jews crucified 



23 

him because they hated him, and their hatred of him was 
hatred of the law, and their hatred of the law was hatred of 
the holy character of God, of which the law was a manifes- 
tation. The feelings of every unconverted person, when 
awakened, and till converted, are like the feelings which 
moved the Jews to crucify the Son of God. Transgressors 
always hate the laws which condemn them, and by which 
they are justly punished. This every one awakened and 
convicted by the Spirit of God understands. This every 
true christian will acknowledge to be according to his expe- 
rience, when awakened and before converted. 

There is a, strange inconsistency in the preaching of some. 
They cannot deny that the unrenewed are dead in trespasses 
and sins, but they urge them by all the force of argument 
they can command to do what the dead cannot do ! They 
cannot take the first right step. They admit that the 
natural heart is enmity against God, and yet they make the 
impression on the minds of their hearers that they have full 
power to do what is required of them. The consequence is, 
that the unrenewed believe that their salvation is in their 
own power, and that they can secure it when they have a 
convenient time. 

You may then ask, what must the sinner do ? I answer, 
he must know what his situation is, and what he ought to 
do. He is not literally dead, but is dead to what is holy. 
His deadness to what is good is his hatred of it. He hates 
God because he has refused to obey his law, which requires 
him to love him with all his heart. He has robbed God in 
many ways, and we know that the robber hates him he has 
robbed. 

He must be made to feel the necessity of a new creation, 
or a new nature, to prepare him to love the Son as well as 
the Father — indeed, the tri-une God. In his natural state 
he is fitted to worship but one person : the new nature, 
created by the Holy Spirit, prepares him to worship under- 
standingly, the three persons in the Godhead. 



24 

Some of our most popular preachers are careful, in the 
exhibition of the character and life of Christ, to introduce 
nothing which can be offensive to worldly men. His spot- 
less moral purity no one would venture to disapprove. p 

His wonderful liberality to the poor, feeding five hundrod Mt» 
men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two 
fishes — his wonderful cures of the blind, &c. 

Men of the world admire and extol the man, who, in a 
time of great scarcity, supplies the destitute with food. — the 
founder of a hospital for the sick— or a safe place for the in- 
sane, the blind, the deaf and dumb. ^jg- 

The wonderful miracles Christ wrought only^gave lustre 
to those qualities the worldly admire. Now the unrenewed 
may be pleased with such a person, and may extol the 
preacher whose discourse is well written and well delivered. 
They persuade themselves, that as they are pleased with the 
discourse, so they are pleased with the character of Christ, 
and the impression is made on their mind, that they may 
come to him any time and secure their salvation. Such 
preachers are admired ; their hearers are satisfied with them- 
selves because their consciences are not disturbed, and they 
persuade themselves that they can come to him just as they 
are. They will pay liberally to him who will encourage 
them to indulge in hopes of salvation, without being born of 
the Spirit. They do not so address the conscience of the 
sinner as to convince him of his guilt, and of the necessity 
of a new nature to fit him to worship the three persons in 
the Trinity. 

It is to be lamented, that so few revivals and conversions 
are reported at the meetings of our Presbyteries, and that 
some very popular preachers appear to regard a very liberal 
support and the praise of men, more than the salvation of 
souls. They will not, with solemnity, address the consciences 
of sinners, and show them their guilt — its greatness — the 
excellence of the divine law — God's hatred of sin, and his 
determination to punish it. They only speak of the injury 



25 

done to themselves by their transgressions, and not the 
injury done to God and his government, which could not be 
repaired except by the death of his dearly beloved and only 
begotten son. They speak very gently and cautiously of 
the danger to which the sinner has exposed himself, and 
urge him to take care of himself and secure his own happi- 
ness. It is painful and distressing to hear some of our 
young preachers, just from our seminaries, deliver well 
written sermons, which contain some corrections of the 
translations of the scriptures from the Greek and Hebrew, 
and some refutations of errors which have existed in the 
church, but very little suited to the necessities of a common 
congregation. Why not describe the work of the Holy 
Spirit in the conviction aud conversion of sinners, and the 
essential difference between a good hope of salvation, and 
one that is deceptive and ruinous ? 

In conclusion, in many of the sermons of the present day, 
the work of the Holy Spirit in the conviction and conversion 
of sinners is not brought distinctly to view, and so described 
as to be known. Conviction by the Spirit of God is a deep, 
solemn, and painful work, and conversion by the same 
power produces a great change of views and feelings, and 
manner of life. Ii is an important duty of every preacher 
to make known the evidences of conviction and conversion 
by the Holy Spirit, and the evidences of the progress of the 
work in the heart of the convert. We have reason to fear 
that not a few, who occupy places in the visible church, 
were never born of the Holy Spirit. 

It appears to be of great importance, that young men, in 
their preparation for the ministry, should devote more of 
their time to experimental subjects, that those who hear 
them may be satisfied that they are what they profess to be. 
This would add greatly to their influence and success. The 
most important branches of ministerial duty should be made 
most prominent. 



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